Tatyana Pozdnyakova 2:34 @ 50?!?!

I agree DOPED out the sciene lab and all the way to her bathroom cabinet or really a freak of nature. What does the first part mean I don't know (LOL) but if shes clean shes better than any athlete in regards to age versus performance level.

She ran 2:31:05 at L.A. last March at the age of 50. Her performance at Austin is actually pretty slow for her. Comparing her performances to those of other runners is difficult, since there aren't a lot of world-class runners who continue to compete at a high level into their fifties. Considering that there have been 50-year-old men in the 2:20 range, and other women in their late forties with sub-2:30 times, her performances are not necessarily out of line.

As for doping, I have my suspicions about her. She did test positive at least once, after winning Houston, but it was for a stimulant that can be found in cold medicines, and she received a relatively minor sanction.

its funny how people will go to such lencths to say that all Russian Athletes are on drugs, yet believe Lance is clean. Is it a Nationality thing?

If she's being drug tested, then I have no faith in the validity of drug testing.

At age 49, she ran a ridiculously fast 8K in Virginia Beach (26:02), beating Gary Romesser, the top 50-54 male runner in the USA at that time. That just isn't right.

Nothing out of the ordinary unless you believe that Paula & the crew of 4 or 5 women that can run under sub-2:20 are on drugs.

Masters T&F Age-Graded Tables Lookup # 61238

The Age-Graded Factor in the Mar for gender/age group W50 is 0.895

so a performance of 2:34:23 corresponds to an Open (ages 20-30) equivalent of 2:18:10.38

[quote]oldguy wrote:

Considering that there have been 50-year-old men in the 2:20 range, and other women in their late forties with sub-2:30 times, her performances are not necessarily out of line.

[quote]

WMA credits TP with the 45-49 WR at 2:29:00 (run at age 46). Care to name one other woman in her "late forties" who has run sub-2:30?

it's funny!

i used to think it's skin color thing, a lot people on this board think that all africans are doped and Mottram is the next Mesiah, but after this one i don't know what to think any more!

Its pretty simple. If a person thinks Bekele is on EPO, it doesn't mean he's a racist. If a person thinks that all top African runners are on EPO, but all white runners are clean, then he's probably a racist (and an idiot).

Oops! I was wrong. I had several runners in mind, but none broke 2:30 after turning 45. Priscilla Welch ran 2:26:51 at 42, but started having serious health problems in her mid-forties and never ran a good marathon in her late forties. Joyce Smith ran sub-2:30 a few months before turning 45, and ran 2:32+ on a hot day at the LA Olympics when she was almost 47. Evy Palm ran 2:31:05 when she was 47, and ran many other sub-2:35 marathons in her late forties, but didn't break 2:30. Even so, all of those performances were comparable to TP's, and I doubt that any of them were dopers.

I have to admit that, if I were betting on the matter, I'd bet that TP is a doper. At the same time, I don't think that her performances are wildly out of line with either (1) her performances in her younger years or (2) the performances of a number of other runners over the years. So I'm not willing to convict her, nor am I willing to declare her any more of a genetic freak than are a number of other excellent runners.

she has run incredibly fast times for the last 7 or 8 years at the crim 10 mile. anyone who runs that well for so long is legitimate. its when you see the flash in the pans for a year or two that you have to wonder. i believe she is the real deal!!

I don't trust anyone who was part of the well-documented Eastern Bloc drug Brigade of the 70's and 80's. Especially those who are as old as my mom and run faster than me.

Neither do I. But who knows? Maybe she's legit (although I frankly doubt it).

she ran the 1500 in 356.50 in 1982, so she has been at a high level for a very long time. i think it's just a matter of really loving the sport and staying in shape, let's say prefontaine had not died, with his love of running and enthusiasm for working out, he would be running under 215 for the marathon probably until he was 60.

doug225550 wrote:

she ran the 1500 in 356.50 in 1982, so she has been at a high level for a very long time. i think it's just a matter of really loving the sport and staying in shape, let's say prefontaine had not died, with his love of running and enthusiasm for working out, he would be running under 215 for the marathon probably until he was 60.

Oh yeah, right... hahahaha.Pre running marathons into his 60s, regardless of the outrageous time predictions? That guy had weight problems in his early twenties, how would he be able to stay slim after turning 35? Forget it.

Freescale does drug testing and Pozdnyakova was selected for testing. Results take 2-4 weeks.

Wish there was more out of competition testing along with this in competition testing but hats off to Austin for testing. I'm not sure of another B level marathon that puts out the cash for testing. Some A/B level marathons don't even test (eg, RNR, Houston).

doug225550 wrote:

she ran the 1500 in 356.50 in 1982, so she has been at a high level for a very long time. i think it's just a matter of really loving the sport and staying in shape, let's say prefontaine had not died, with his love of running and enthusiasm for working out, he would be running under 215 for the marathon probably until he was 60.

Yeah, just like Bill Rodgers was able to put together all of those sub 2:15s in his upper 40s and 50s.

A lot of these questions could be settled if there were better out of competition testing. Can anyone here tell me how many times she has been tested out of competition? Can anyone tell me how many times anyone outside the US has been tested out of competition? Bingo, you can't. The uS is the only country that reveals stats on how many out of competition tests are given. The only way you find out about other countires is when the WADA tries to do an out of comp test and athletes are mysterioulsy unavailable or at their secret mountain training camp (Kenya/Ehtiopia). Even Great Britain doesn't release this info which makes it all the more refreshing when Paula releases the info herself. The only way to ensure a level playing field is for everyone to have the same chance f being tested out of competition and all of the test times, places, and results publicly available. Right now the only people tested frequently are in the US, Canada, and parts of Europe. Even when the WADA goes out to test, they stick to the convenient countries.